It doesn't matter who you are or what you do whether you are rich or poor, in good health or bad Covid 19 does not just impact on health but finances too.
You will all have heard the difficult journey that Kate Garraway, from breakfast television, and her family have had since her husband contracted Covid in March 2020. As her daily updates report his health is far from perfect and he is experiencing a long, difficult journey back from the day he was struck down by the illness. But recently Kate has started to discuss how she is struggling to cope with the daily financial things a family has to deal with.
Kate has advised of her struggles because she does not have a lasting power of attorney for her husband. This prevents her from doing the simplest things like which prevents him from gaining access to accounts which are in his name, discussing utility bills in his name and dealing with the fall out from her stolen car.
We cannot stress how important and invaluable lasting powers of attorney are. In circumstances such as these a lasting power of attorney could be taken out of the cupboard and registered with all the asset and liability holders Kate's husband had. Utility providers would be able to speak to Kate and bills could be paid, mortgages could be paid and there could be less things for her to deal with. She certainly has enough on her plate looking after her children, working and worrying about his health.
Kate and her husband did not foresee Covid 19 and the knock on effects that it has had on their lives.
None of us are superhuman. We don't know what is round the corner and what fate has in store for us. We put insurance in place for the "what ifs" for our homes and cars and lives but what about the "what if" we become ill and that illness does not end life. What then?
Lasting Powers of Attorney!
